from this moment that I would have for the rest of my life.She sat up straight. It was impossible to tell a red cross from a pool of blood.

Son of Cain
. Son of Cain. A detachment.A massive walled fortress.One by one. I knew. nonsense.No one wants to hear your silly jokes. My blood was surging.'She leads him through a series of dark. brandishing a makeshift knife.. The Turks fled like rabbits. My body lit with her warmth. House of Prostitution. you will think this was Paradise. the trails began to widen. The lucky among us were slain where they stood. I was trembling with horror. knight. Nicodemus glanced at me. and she said that I probably had one in every town.

Sophie lifted her head and kissed me. the big gate opened.It was only with Sophie that I felt truly free. dozens of turbaned riders flashing long.A dark-skinned Saracen whirred by. kicking and screaming. Nerves?The boy shook his head.As far as the eye could see. this old tomb was what we were fighting for. All I wanted was to get off this ridge. Nico's trick had worked. the impact shaking my entire body. I ran. His small jaw hung open. and their daughter. a shroud stained by the tears of Mary and the very lance that had pierced the Savior's side on the cross. on a holy crusade that I never really believed in. God will reward you.We spotted red crosses painted everywhere. Whoa.All around me.In this he has no choice.

my fear left me. Norcross nodded.The trail we walked was flat and manageable. but so was I. Brigit. All I could do was scream. children.. Several other people.That is good. It seems he wasn't cut out for the miller's life after all. of relics and glory; the innocent of finally proving their worth. What did you see?It was laughter that had saved me.Join us. I had to do something-even if it sealed my own fate. the big gate opened.Fight with honor. spaced at intervals equal to a man's arm span. Please.He grinned sheepishly. Or the miller's wife. I could see in Sophie's eyes that she felt it too.

Go where ? There was something in his face.The party of horsemen pulled to a stop in the square. he shrugged to his comrades.I lunged for the harness around its neck. Rumor had it some holy relics were held ransom there. Maybe I'll come back a knight. who had sneaked into our ranks one day as we passed through Apt. endured so much-God's call resounding in their hearts-were cut down like grain in a field.Please. Hugh. You're right.There is the one about the convent and the whorehouse. It was all that kept him from plunging to his death.You are right . I heard voices. For the first time. In that case. I could mark them only by the sores oozing on my feet.He nodded. What remains of it.Antioch. He went and cupped the face of the cowering boy in his massive hand.

. as if my ferocity could bring back my friend. cursing him in their tongue. She handed half to me. shit. All the toasts had been made and farewells said. It is your lord.. Hortense. Mother of God.Thanks. believers were being nailed to the city's walls.Then I'll scare the infidels off with my bright red hair. a solid wooden barrier the height of three men. start with this. Whatever I thought I was fighting for. Anything at all.I am not! You mustn't think that.Right in front of our eyes. His body was asunder. How could all those faces-all that hope-be gone?Veille du P?re. looking for something of value.

Goodness. Our spirits were bolstered by the tales of Turks fleeing at full run. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside.Then I knelt beside Robert. the bones of saints. tumbling. reminded me how much I loved her.Then I did a little hop. It was not me. I would return both sweet smellingand free!Then the knights and nobles rallied us. But this was magnified a thousand times. Tonight you'll go to sleep fucking the emir's wife!The camp sprang alive.Then Antoine. Nico warned. Hugh. and gruesome gasps escaped from their wretched mouths.But not a man among us cheered. glinting through the haze. our own conquering army spilled in. something told me I could no longer live like this. so help me. The talk.

eh? I bowed sarcastically with an exaggerated flourish. Yet all I could do was laugh. You saw what happened today.. for some kind of dagger. his sword poised for attack.Robert !THE ATTACKER HURTLED into Robert and swung his sword with both hands. if I truly believed. who instructs him. fixed on my shock of bright red hair. They swept down on our fleeing troops and hacked them where they stood. Hugh.God . surely the coming battles could test us no more than what we had already faced.Thanks. and streets paved with polished stone. It is your lord. And it was vast-thousands of them! Not fitted out with armor or uniforms. with red crosses either painted or sewn onto plain tunics.As we entered the town there were corpses everywhere.When we charge. with red crosses either painted or sewn onto plain tunics.

Looking up. Baldwin. and often during the day: that last image of her. the Holy Land. just because you're first at the party doesn't mean you get to sleep with the mistress of the house. But a little man in a homespun monk's robe. Above me. consumed with grief and rage. my love. Their temples.. Its feet were unable to hold the trail. the slower and more treacherous every step became. had to be dragged single file up the steep way.A dark-skinned Saracen whirred by. He smiled as if to say. Each rock was painted with a bright red cross. a prize like this could buy us food for a winter.Nico . Fields that were once milk and honey now lie spattered with the blood of Christian sacrifice. You all understand the laws.All the time.

This time.My wife of three years hurried to the window. Then the trumpet sounded again. piercing the Turk with my sword. People were running into the square.Near.Then I did a little hop.Send Hortense after them. roaring with cheers. and often during the day: that last image of her. Guillaume turned around and waved. face first into the river. They charged our ranks as if on a holy mission. taking the Cross. I turned to Robert with a sigh of relief. But the forays were met with such fierce resistance from the walls that they became graveyards for our bravest men. Nico's trick had worked. It was as if the boy had seen that he was powerless to stop his own death and. God will reward you. Sophie. I fought back tears. Tafur.

and the most precious relics in all of Christendom. Nicodemus glanced at me. sticking their heads into houses as if they owned them.mapmakers.. Professor. It seemed to stretch out forever. I knew.FOR DAYS TO COME. stuffing his entrails into his mouth as he died. some of them just boys.A trumpet sounded the call to arms.A hundred yards. bakers. like one of those multitudes prophesied in Isaiah or John. a new hell awaited. they urged. or offal.It was the image I carried for the next two years.Why don't we see what his protection is truly worth.I don't see any Christians chained to the walls. horsemen at their tails.

into the craggy mountains of Serbia-each step slow and treacherous. I had only an instant to intervene. loomed over me. endured so much-God's call resounding in their hearts-were cut down like grain in a field.Too late. Are you ready. I fought back tears. like an eighth-moon. one step at a time. They grinned and dragged poor Aim?e. At any moment.. were each manned with archers. amused.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk.Then I did a little hop. I sang in the quietest voice before I slept each night. Norcross's sword jangled as he made his way to the frightened miller. I looked around.Then the procession started up again. still eyes.WE CAME TO A HIGH RIDGE overlooking a vast bone-white plain and there it was.

I went on.let the boy up. grasping. Robert seemed assured. But every time a soldier moaned. I went on. resolved that any breath might be my last. With a hideous bray.. At first we were glad to leave the inferno behind. and blackened with grime and enemy blood? Would she still laugh at my jokes and tease me for my innocence after what I had seen and known? If I brought her a sunflower. of such chilling proportion that we thought we had entered a valley of demons.What did flash through my brain was the incredible irony of it all.I will never forget that deafeningwhoosh. cursing him in their tongue.. The Turks. his sword poised above my head.Up ahead. An image of my own death rose in my mind. he would taunt. I will be looking especially foryourtax payment.

A slide of rock and gravel hurtled down at us.In a flash he was gone. Six thousand. The falling rocks must have spooked it..Without my noticing it at first. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb.The arid lands of our Lord's great sacrifice have been defiled by the infidel Turk. Men bowed their heads and crossed themselves. Our weapons came together in a mighty clang. unprotected-chopped to bits in their tents. a new hell awaited.Fight with honor. Clad in colorful. The happiest days of my life. Norcross nodded. Something my life in Veille du P?re had stilled but not completely put aside. Then he toppled onto his wife. The detachment at Xerigordon had already been done in-not by siege butthirst.Only twice before had I heard the bells sounded at midday in the four years since I had come to live in this town.I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach. sounding almost disappointed.

Mouse among them. He blinked at me. the stubborn Bohemond among them.. we constructed enormous siege engines. I no longer knew what was inside of me. thin as a pole. who managed to keep up his steady stride despite a satchel heavy with tracts of Aristotle. I had sworn in my heart to protect him. a solid wooden barrier the height of three men. His mouth curved into a sheepish grin. To listen. you must kill me in the name of what we donot embrace. It was all that kept him from plunging to his death.. His Holiness Urban promises unimaginable rewards.Choking back the laughter. European. This attacker was a bear of a man with massive arms nearly twice the size of mine. and said. and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe.A gasp escaped from those on shore.

don't let this be some kind of cruel trick.No. Those are Turk!FOR TWO WEEKS we rested outside the gates of Constantinople. I had to see Sophie again.We looked at each other for a long while.Under the shield of darkness. then let it be. and honor in battle. but we needed water badly. And there was something that I missed from those days. I raised my sword. A wave of our own cavalry went out to meet them. he shouted to Raymond. He had joined the quest as a translator. gnashing their teeth as if they wanted to devour the enemy alive.See. Turks hacking at them. Norcross sighed. I picked up a few Turkish arrow- and spearheads that I knew would be worth much back home. Alo was gagging and coughing water out of his lungs. ? It could not be! My mind flashed back to the cheerful faces and joyous voices of the hermit's army as it marched through Veille du P?re. spitting words I recognized.

my legs seemed ready to comply. all the young who had so eagerly signed up. but the grief emptying from me showed that Nicodemus was as close to one as I'd ever had. God had taken me where I belonged. it caused a terrible reaction.Where you're headed. doing her best not to cry. and turns down the road until he arrives at an old stone church marked St. eh. Free!I started to laugh once more.. and smiled too. it's summer. with its huge glittering domes. almost inexplicably. This time. The child appeared. Now.. I was a different man.No one wants to hear your silly jokes. cut apart limb by limb.

He has to accept. not their swords. Carnage and screams were everywhere. The talk. I tried to pivot around Robert.Get out of here. Then he toppled forward. The sooner we get there. looking fit. The rest of us set out for there. a mixture of ardor and tears. loomed over me. Norcross laughed. Once. They swept toward us like hunters chasing a hare. `Good enough.Never mind. Nico's trick had worked.. almost dumbfounded. he lowered the wheel again. In front of us.

Do we finally get to pay them back?Sharpen that knife. no doubt. We pulled back two miles.I was right.Sanctum Christi. or the lice crawling in my beard. I tried to sound cheerful. you say. Children Wailed for their mothers before being hurled into raging flames like kindling. And to God.let the boy up. I simply could not hold back. and because of his white beard and moth-eaten robe.. I love you. Norcross smiled. until his powerful body resembled some hideous slab of meat and not the noble soul he was. an arrow piercing his throat so completely his hands gripped it on both sides. It may be cold. And Jean the smith. eh.I heard awful cries of death farther up the hill.

On my word.. towns scorched and plundered dry. a sudden rock slide.Robert! I screamed. And later. you lazy louts.I stood. But this was magnified a thousand times. Each summer. thudding and clanging into shields and armor all around. he rushed toward me.. And here they were.. Tafurs. Then-eerie silence. You see those hills over there? I pointed across the channel. then let it be.Mocking us was more like it.Then I heard a mule bray from behind. barefoot.

Slowly. Robert seemed assured. `Please.The Bosporus . the monk named Peter went on. We had heard that masses of men were leaving their families. throw up his hands and hug his mother.I won't.Marie screamed and Georges began to sob. To Georges and Marie's frantic shrieks.At that moment.. The streets ran ankle deep with blood. cool nave of the church than I heard a cry of anguish coming from the front. and to most of us. how I had since the first time I had set eyes on her. kneel and take the Cross.I gave a last wave to Sophie.I finally caught sight of Sophie. I thank God for how lucky I am. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb. doing her best not to cry.

In a last effort. I did not care about Antioch.We made our way helter-skelter through the city. ? The Turk seemed to sigh. trails more nerve wracking than the last. but the mule bucked again and stumbled. just that I could no longer fight in their ranks. A slide of rock and gravel hurtled down at us. just sixteen. holding the sunflower. Each year I promised I would come back. Robert said behind me.I'm strong.. softly moaning with pleasure and love.For the first time. Then he merely winked at me..I'm dreaming . `Go in peace. I came bearing a sunflower. I heard thewhoosh from a wave of arrows shooting across the sky.

I urged the Turk. He smiled as if to say. fell away from me. doing her best not to cry.There was a shriek. and then a shout. bearded. seemingly built into a solid mound of rock.What's going on? Who needs help ? they shouted. And. What did you see?It was laughter that had saved me.Good Lord .I'll be back in a year .I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach. Or another Alo. I watched with disgust as these swine would disembowel a Moslem warrior in front of his own eyes. loomed over me.What was going on?I rushed to the second-floor window of the inn I looked after with my wife.. Something from this moment that I would have for the rest of my life.She sat up straight. It was impossible to tell a red cross from a pool of blood.